24

Level Headed

Location: Tobago Cays

In our current state my dear friend Charles and I find ourselves looking like Caesar and Jon Claude Van Damm respectively. These things of course do not matter when doing navigation dives whose purpose is to give direction to directionless souls like myself, but so it goes. There was also much studying for the upcoming exams in Marine Biology and Basic seamanship, and forward progress was made with Phil’s ponytail. Putting the fact that I look like a bad action movie star aside the day was beautiful, with ample time to take in the uninhabited islands. Going to shore always brings with it thoughtful ideas brimming with understanding, such as chasing a sand shark down the beach in hopes of grabbing it, climbing rocks in bare feet, and having a dry bag full of books we know we’ll never look at while on shore. Dinner brought about banter and tales of embarrassment during the trip, such as my rocket to the ocean floor that made me laugh and flood my mask, and the tribulations of what happens the day after having too much coconut on the beach. So it goes on Ocean Star, the relentless joy and labors of the sea.